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LAPLACE — Confusion surrounding a change order for the West Bank Public Safety Complex has allowed St. John the Baptist Parish to receive more than $50,000 worth of required work at no cost and has also left a construction company as well as smaller vendors without any compensation for services they provided.

Council members on Feb. 11 voted not to approve Change Order No. 1 with Aegis Construction of Metairie, claiming the order was not properly presented to the council. But who’s to blame for the snafu remains unresolved, with the contractor and the architect seemingly implicating each other.

The controversy dates back to Oct. 24 when Aegis president Kent Liliedahl made a site visit and learned crews had discovered unexpected concrete buried on the Wallace site. Since pile driving could not continue without its removal, he sent an email to the project manager from Sizeler, Thompson, Brown Architects regarding the discovery.

Liliedahl said shortly after Sizeler was notified, St. John Fire Chief Cain Dufrene visited the site, and during a Jan. 8 meeting at the Parish Government Complex that included the fire chief, Liliedahl and Tommy Brown from Sizeler, an agreement was reached regarding removal of the concrete.

“We were told by the project manager to go rent the equipment,” Liliedahl said. “We were certainly under the impression we had been given permission from Sizeler. (Dufrene) was fully aware what was going on.”

He added that on Jan. 28, Dufrene had directed Sizeler officials to prepare the change order to be presented to the council and said he believed that had been done.

“I don’t know what you were sent,” he told the council.

The project manager in question, who Brown said was on the site “on a periodic basis,” has since moved to Florida and was not at the council meeting.

“We do not have authority to make those types of decisions,” Brown said. “The contractor did the work, not us. We are the design firm.”

Brown said a search did not uncover a written document authorizing when and who authorized Aegis to remove the underground obstruction.

“I find that hard to believe,” councilwoman Tammy Houston said.

Brown also insisted that his firm was not aware the council had not been notified of the change order, although he said he sent a letter in February to the council describing what had transpired and what “all was necessary to get the site ready to pile drive.”

“The work has been done, and we think it has been well documented in the change order (presented to the council),” Brown told council members.

He said the type of work that needed to be done was not anticipated and looking back on it, he was not sure a change order could have been prepared, calling it one of those “unfortunate circumstances.”

Houston said the council was not disputing that the work was required but a change order should have been presented for approval. Councilman Lennix Madere said he “could live with” splitting the $53,064 in question but Houston immediately objected, saying she believes the council has “zero responsibility.”

The District Attorney’s office issued a legal opinion regarding the process, saying there was a failure to fully comply with Louisiana’s Public Law and also questioned who authorized the work to be completed prior to council approval.

The original contract was signed Aug. 29 and ground was broken in September. Terms of the contract call for the 6,000-square foot building to be completed in 320 days and that delays would result in fines of $700 per day, although it remains unclear who would be subject to those fines.

High Mississippi River levels have delayed construction, and Brown said the building is now expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Liliedahl said he had requested a meeting with his legal counsel, Parish President Jaclyn Hotard and a representative of the District Attorney’s office. Hotard said she did not previously set up a meeting because she had not been presented with all of the facts.

“I just want things done correctly,” Liliedahl, a longtime resident of St. John the Baptist, said. “We have written documentation from the designer to move forward and (Dufrene) was involved in that decision. The facts I’m hearing tonight are not true, simply not true. This is not being appropriately handled.”

“There are legal steps that need to be taken,” he added.

The $2 million complex is a joint venture between the St. John Sheriff’s Office and Fire Department to increase police, fire and medical presence on the West Bank. The 6,000 square foot building features bays for housing trucks and equipment, a conference room, office and sleep quarters, as well as a reception area, day room, kitchen, restrooms and break area.

– by Richard Meek, contributing writer